Rare polar bear showed up on shores of Iceland, Police shot it
A rare polar bear that was spotted outside a cottage in a remote village in Iceland was shot by police after being considered a threat, authorities said Friday.
The bear was killed Thursday afternoon in the northwest of Iceland after police consulted the Environment Agency, which declined to have the animal relocated, Westfjords Police Chief Helgi Jensson told The Associated Press.
“It's not something we like to do,” Jensson said. “In this case, as you can see in the picture, the bear was very close to a summer house. There was an old woman in there.”
The owner, who was alone, was frightened and locked herself upstairs as the bear rummaged through her garbage, Jensson said. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik, the nation's capital, by satellite link, and called for help.
“She stayed there,” Jensson said, adding that other summer residents in the area had gone home. “She knew the danger.”
Polar bears are not native to Iceland but occasionally come ashore after traveling on ice floes from Greenland, according to Anna Sveinsdóttir, director of scientific collections at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. Many icebergs have been spotted off the north coast in the last few weeks.
Although attacks by polar bears on humans are extremely rare, a study in Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2017 said that the loss of sea ice from global warming has led more hungry bears to land, putting them in greater chance of conflicts with humans and leading to a greater risk to both.
Of 73 documented attacks by polar bears from 1870 to 2014 in Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and United States — which killed 20 people and injured 63 — 15 occurred in the final five years of that period.
The bear shot on Thursday was the first one seen in the country since 2016. Sightings are relatively rare with only 600 recorded in Iceland since the ninth century.
While the bears are a protected species in Iceland and it's forbidden to kill one at sea, they can be killed if they pose a threat to humans or livestock.
After two bears arrived in 2008, a debate over killing the threatened species led the environment minister to appoint a task force to study the issue, the institute said. The task force concluded that killing vagrant bears was the most appropriate response.
The group said the nonnative species posed a threat to people and animals, and the cost of returning them to Greenland, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) away, was exorbitant. It also found there was a healthy bear population in east Greenland where any bear was likely to have come from.
The young bear, which weighed between 150 and 200 kilograms (300 to 400 pounds), will be taken to the institute to study. Scientists took samples from the bear Friday.
They will be checking for parasites and infections and evaluating its physical condition, such as the health of its organs and percentage of body fat, Sveinsdóttir said. The pelt and skull may be preserved for the institute's collection.
A Coast Guard helicopter surveyed the area where the bear was found to look for others but didn't find any, police said.
After the shot bear was taken away, the woman who reported it decided to stay longer in the village, Jensson said.
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NHRC notice to Labour Min over woman CA's death allegedly due to 'excessive workload'
New Delhi, Sep 21: The NHRC on Saturday said it has sought a detailed response from the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment on reports that a woman chartered accountant died in Pune allegedly due to "excessive workload" at her office.
The National Human Rights Commission in a statement noted that it has constituted a 'Core Group on Business and Human Rights' to review legislations and regulations and firm up recommendations that will be sent to the central and state governments and their agencies to ensure the protection of human rights and healthy work environment in business and industry.
It also emphasised that businesses should "regularly update and revise their work and employment policies and regulations" to ensure alignment with global human rights standards.
The NHRC said it has taken "suo motu cognisance of media reports that a 26-year-old chartered accountant girl from Kerala died in Pune, Maharashtra on July 20, 2024, allegedly, due to excessive workload at the Ernst & Young that she joined four months back".
On Thursday, Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had said that the death of Chartered Accountant Anna Sebastian Perayil was being investigated.
She had died of cardiac arrest in Pune this July.
Reportedly, the mother has written a letter to the employer claiming that "long hours of work had taken a heavy toll on her daughter's physical, emotional and mental health", a charge "denied" by the company, the NHRC statement said.
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment is getting the matter investigated, the statement said.
The Commission has observed that the content of the media reports, if true, raises serious issues regarding challenges faced by young citizens at work, suffering from mental stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep, adversely affecting their physical and mental health while chasing impractical targets and timelines resulting in "grave violations of their human rights".
"It is the prime duty of every employer to provide a safe, secure and positive environment to its employees. They must ensure that everyone working with them is treated with dignity and fairness," the rights panel said.
The painful death of the young employee in the instant case has indicated that there is an "immediate need to take steps by all the stakeholders in this regard to stop such incidents in the country".
Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, seeking a detailed report, it said.
The Commission would also like to know the outcome of the investigation, reportedly, being conducted in the instant matter relating to the death of the young employee, the NHRC said.
Apart from this, the Commission would also like to know the steps being taken and proposed to be taken to ensure such incidents do not recur. The response is expected within four weeks, it added.
According to the media report, carried on September 18, the mother of the deceased woman has claimed that her daughter's death is "reflective of the larger work culture, which glorifies hard work but at the cost of health".
She has reportedly stated that how can a company that speaks of values and human rights "fail even to show up for the funeral of one of its own employees," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Ernst & Young (EY) had on Wednesday issued a statement stating, "We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely passing in July 2024." Since the death, EY has been in touch with the family, helping them but it is only now that her family has chosen to write to the company, complaining about the "excessive workload", it had said.
The company said it will continue to improve and provide a healthy workplace in its offices throughout the country.
The Commission mentioned that it it had taken suo motu cognisance of media reports regarding alleged unfair practices at the workplace by two multinational companies in the states of Haryana and Tamil Nadu
Both matters are under consideration before the Commission. Apart from this, the Commission at various platforms has been insisting businesses integrate human rights protection, safety and security especially of women into their organisational culture to operate sustainably and extend these principles to formulate policies in such a manner that a healthy work environment is created for the welfare of the workers, it said.
Last year, the Commission organised a conference on 'harmonising human rights and climate issues in businesses' to sensitise various stakeholders, especially business and industry on human rights.
The Commission has also appointed a 'Special Monitor' to look into various practices and work environment leading to violations of human rights in business.
The NHRC has specifically constituted a 'Core Group on Business and Human Rights' to review the existing legislations and regulations relating to the business environment and human rights and suggest measures for improvement, it said.
Based on these inputs, the Commission intends to firm up its recommendations and send the same to the Central and state governments and their agencies to ensure the protection of human rights and a healthy work environment in business and industry, the statement said.
